NOAA reports: "The Lionfish is an invader--far from its home on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific basin. The mystery of how they got here has slowly unraveled. A showy species for personal aquariums, they were likely dumped off the Florida coast when no longer wanted. Several small releases of Lionfish have led to a population explosion that has increased 1,000 percent in less than five years. And they are now found throughout the Caribbean; along the U.S. coast to Long Island, and east to Bermuda."